SOIL CONTAMINATION PROCESS DURING LEACHATE INFILTRATION

Abstract

To carry out the pollutant transfer mode in unsaturated soil and pollutant action onto the soil, infiltration and standard laboratory hydraulic conductivity tests were performed on soil column. During infiltration tests, soil moisture and soil electrical conductivity were measured to observe moisture and leachate solute movement. Infiltration curves were used to describe leachate inflow and the steady infiltration rate. Moisture profiles allowed the observation of the soil saturation process and the determination of the leachate transit time in the soil column. Soil electrical conductivity profiles give the pollutant distribution in the soil column. Studies have shown that the hydraulic conductivity of compacted soil permeated with leachate can be significantly higher than the hydraulic conductivity of the same soil permeated with water (Gleason et al. 1997). Laboratory permeability tests performed with different water head, carry out the influence of the leachate and the hydraulic gradient on the soil hydraulic conductivity.